Spoiler alert: The sections jump around so the order is not chronological, but each part seems to push us forward in time and give us a constellation of memories. In Part I Alice is younger than ten. In the first section of Part II, Alice is thirteen. In the first section of Part III, Nonna has just died. And in the first section of Part IV, Arthur dies.

“There is so much about your own life you never know,” Mother said…. (112)